My Scratch Day Shenanigans
So, I heard about this thing called Scratch Day. Sounded kinda neat, people getting together, messing with that Scratch programming thing, you know, the one with the cat? Figured, why not? I’ve got some time, let’s see what it’s all about. Wasn’t planning anything big, just wanted to dive in myself, see what the fuss was.
First thing, I just opened up the Scratch website. Didn’t need to install anything fancy, which was nice. Just straight into the editor. Stared at the screen for a bit. That orange cat staring back. Okay, let’s make it move. That seemed like the basic first step everyone does.
Started dragging those colourful blocks around. The ‘move 10 steps’ block, yeah, grabbed that one. Clicked it. The cat moved. Okay, simple enough. Then I found the ‘when green flag clicked’ block. Hooked the move block under it. Clicked the flag. Cat moves. Felt like a genius for about five seconds.
Getting a Bit More Stuck In
Then I thought, let’s make it do more. Maybe walk back and forth? Tried adding more blocks. Found a ‘turn’ block. Added that. Then another ‘move’. Then another ‘turn’. Clicked the flag. The cat kinda spazzed out in a corner. Clearly, I wasn’t thinking it through properly.
It took some fiddling. Trial and error, mostly error. Dragged blocks out, tried different ones. Looked for something like ‘if on edge, bounce’. Found it! Stuck that in. Clicked the flag again. Ha! The cat walked back and forth across the screen. Now we’re talking. It wasn’t exactly complex coding, felt more like sticking LEGO bricks together until something happened.
Spent maybe an hour or so just tinkering:
- Tried changing the cat’s costume so it looked like it was walking.
- Added another sprite, maybe a ball for the cat to chase (got that working, kinda).
- Messed with the sound blocks. Made the cat meow every time it hit the edge. Got annoying fast, removed that.
What I Reckon About It
Look, it’s not like building some massive company software, obviously. It’s basic. But that’s the point, right? It got me thinking logically, step-by-step. If I want this to happen, what needs to come first? What command do I need? If I put this block here, what does it actually do?
It’s pretty clever how it makes you figure things out visually. No complex syntax rules to memorize right off the bat. Just drag, drop, click, see what happens. You get instant feedback. Cat moves, or it doesn’t. Sound plays, or it’s silent. Simple cause and effect.
So yeah, my Scratch Day was just me, clicking and dragging blocks for a bit. Didn’t make anything revolutionary. But I actually made something, saw it work (after some failures), and understood why it worked. It’s a good way to just… try stuff. Get the brain working in that problem-solving way without all the usual scary programmer jargon. Definitely see why people, especially kids, get hooked.